Ron Artest on game 3 suspension: I’m ‘ready to move forward’

After his clothesline of Dallas guard Jose Barea earned him a one-game suspension, Lakers forward Ron Artest offered no semblance of an apology. "No reaction," Artest said of missing Game 3 Friday in the Lakers’ semifinal series against the Dallas Mavericks and losing $57,476 in pay. "Ready to move forward."

HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: They’re down 2-0 in the Western Conference semi-final against the Dallas Mavericks. Their center says they have ‘trust issues’. Their forward got suspended for game three because he threw a clothesline that would make Georges St. Pierre jealous.

Other than that, it’s business as usual as the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers head to Dallas to resume their series versus Team Cuban.

Jokes aside, the big story in Lakers-land was that Ron Artest refused to publicly apologize for putting his arm on J.J. Barea’s face last night.

Artest shouldn’t say he’s sorry because he recently won the Citizenship Award. He doesn’t owe you, me, or society a thing.

It’s different with teammates. Artest’s lapse earned him a one-game forced vacation, which means the Lakers will be short-handed in their biggest test of the year Friday night.

Of course, he may have apologized privately. We don’t know. And we probably never will.

We know one thing: Friday is a must win for the Lakers and they could have used Artest.